Patriots pummel Tigers
9/13/2003LIBERTY CENTER - Patrick Henry dominated last night's Henry County matchup, handing Liberty Center a 48-12 loss in Northwest Ohio Athletic League action.
The Patriots used a balanced offense and a stingy defense to notch their first win at Tiger Stadium since 1997.
The Patriots scored the first 27 points of the game and then posted 21 points in the fourth quarter.
PH quarterback Trent Meyer completed 14 of 20 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns, including three to receiver Marc Krauss (7 for 173).
The Patriots also rushed for 207 yards, as senior tailback Chris Tietje collected 129 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
“We played a flawless game,” Patrick Henry coach Bill Inselmann said. “We had so many kids step up. Our quarterback [Trent Meyer] played incredible, Krauss had a whale of a game, and I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage.”
Patrick Henry (3-0, 3-1) led 14-0 at halftime, as Krauss had two scoring receptions.
His first came in the first quarter on a 75-yard pass play, as Meyer hit him in stride down the sideline.
Then in the second quarter, Krauss made an acrobatic catch over the defender and strolled into the end zone.
“Marc is a big-play receiver and tonight he made some big plays,” Inselmann said. “That really opened up our offense.”
“He is the real deal,” Liberty Center coach Rex Lingruen said of Krauss. “He got us on a couple of plays. Their quarterback was really throwing darts.”
Liberty Center dropped to 2-1, 3-1 on the season.
The Patriots broke open the game in the third quarter, scoring on their first two possessions of the second half. Meyer hit Krauss for a 17-yard touchdown and then found Kirt Wells for his fourth touchdown pass for a 27-0 lead.
Liberty Center scored before the end of the third quarter on Brian Brown's 45-yard pass to Brian Babcock.
Patrick Henry answered with a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, as Meyer ran for a 22-yard touchdown.
“They beat us on both sides of the ball,” Lingruen said. “We self-destructed in some spots, but we got spanked. No ifs, ands or buts about it, they were the better team tonight.”
Logan Haake and Tietje added rushing scores for the Patriots in the fourth quarter, while Bret Babcock scored on a 57-yard run for the Tigers.